


Mondays

by Karasuno Volleygays (ToBeOrNotToBeAGryffindor)



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Boys Are Dumb, M/M, naked cuddles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-05
Updated: 2015-09-05
Packaged: 2018-04-19 02:31:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4729400
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ToBeOrNotToBeAGryffindor/pseuds/Karasuno%20Volleygays
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Matsukawa doesn't expect to find love in a manga shop, but he does. </p><p>Matsukawa doesn't expect to have his heart ripped out, but he does.</p><p>Matsukawa doesn't expect to have it all put back together, but he does.</p><p>And it always seems to happen on a Monday.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Mondays

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for the 30 Day NSFW OTP Challenge: Day 1 - Naked Cuddling. The pairing was requested by le-amewzing on Tumblr.

_It’s crazy how things work out_ , Matsukawa thinks as he feels the dull ache of the evening’s previous activities in several of his extremities. Small but extraordinarily strong fingers had clenched his shoulders and his ass hard enough to bruise as the hazy summer heat had thrown a sweltering blanket over both of them.

It’s still hot and sweaty, and so are both of them, but Matsukawa can’t complain about the weight of a sleeping, naked Watari sprawled on his chest.

 

* * *

 

The shop is dead as Matsukawa cleans the same patch of countertop for the fourth time. Mondays are always slow, hence why it is usually the one day the store is closed, but Golden Week usually brings a significant increase in traffic — especially for a manga store. This, however, is not the case as Matsukawa sighs and abandons the idea of even pretending to keep busy.

Instead, he pulls out the small sketchbook he keeps tucked beneath the counter for such occasions and does a few warm-up doodles. He’s halfway through a sketchy little comic before the bells above the door jingle.

On reflex, Matsukawa chucks his sketchbook and pencil under the cash register before bolting upright and saying cheerily, “Welcome to our store. How may I be of assistance?”

It takes a moment before Matsukawa places the face of his new customer — it’s been three years, after all —  but he isn’t likely to forget someone he played volleyball with for two years. “Watari?”

Watari grins and waves. “Matsukawa-san! It’s really great to see you.”

“Back in town for break?” Matsukawa asks, remembering that his former kouhai had chosen a school outside the prefecture.

Nodding, Watari makes a beeline for the sports mangas and pulls out an entire block of an old baseball manga volumes before bringing them to the counter. “I’m in the top five of my class, so my grandmother gave me some money to make sure I have enough supplies to be a good student.”

Matsukawa chuckles as he looks at the stack of manga. “Secret to success: stay indoors with a good book. This one is pretty good, too.” He looks more closely at the titles. “Hmm, question.”

When Watari raises his brows in askance, Matsukawa asks, “How attached are you to New or Like-New condition?”

“Not very.” Watari shrugs. “As long as it survives a few dozen re-reads. Why?”

“Follow me.” Matsukawa leads Watari to an ill-lit and hidden corner of the shop, where all the old and heavily used volumes go to die. He pulls twelve volumes from the shelf and hands them to Watari. “These are all the same ones you were going to buy, but a quarter of the price. Get these ones, and you can get the next chunk of issues for what you would’ve originally paid.” He crosses his arms with a smirk. “Or you could actually save your money for necessities like pizza and toilet paper.”

Watari’s eyes are almost glittering in awe as he skims the clearance section and pulls out another twenty books. “This is the best day of my life.”

Matsukawa can’t help but grin. “Most shops have a section like this. You just have to look for it.”

He rings up an old friend, knowing but not caring that he hasn’t helped his sales numbers at all, Matsukawa leaves work a few hours later feeling that the day was not a waste in the slightest.

 

* * *

 

Once again, Matsukawa works on a Monday — this time, over New Year’s holidays. However, the shop is extremely busy, as Matsukawa’s suggestion to sell fortunes to shrine-goers has gone over very well. Of course, the success of the venture is aided by the weeks Matsukawa has spent drawing little character chibis on the little pieces of paper to make them more desirable.

His ready-made supply of two-hundred runs out in the first half of the day, and his hand aches near closing time as he spends most of his afternoon drawing more to meet the demand. It’s with no small amount of relief that he flips the sign on the door to Closed and counts down the register for the day.

Matsukawa sets the alarm and closes the door, only to have the breath punched out of his chest as he collides with someone directly in front of him. His hand darts out to steady his reeling counterpart, even as he’s falling back against the door.

His breath leaves him again when he ends up with a lap full of a familiar face. “Long time, no see,” Matsukawa wheezes.

Watari laughs as he wrests himself from Matsukawa’s person. “Too long, evidently. I heard you guys were selling fortunes with characters on them, and I wanted to get a few. Should’ve known you were closing early on a holiday.” He dusts himself off and offers a hand to Matsukawa. “All right there?”

With a lopsided smile, Matsukawa takes Watari’s hand and gets back on his feet. “Going to the shrine by yourself, then?”

Nodding, Watari sighs. “My parents went on holiday this year, so I’m by myself in the house for a whole week. It’s so weird when it’s quiet.”

Matsukawa doesn’t have to think twice before saying, “Then come with me. My parents already went earlier today, so I was going to go alone. I wouldn’t mind company at all.”

Beaming, Watari nods. “Sounds great.”

They head towards the nearest shrine — only a block away — but it takes mere seconds before Matsukawa is pulling his overcoat more tightly around himself against the unseasonably blustering winds. He looks over and sees that Watari isn’t faring much better, so suggests, “Hey, the coffee shop next to the shrine down the street is selling fortunes. Wanna warm up a little first?”

Watari’s subsequent grin answered the question as they head to the shop with all due haste to the frigid weather.

Hot chocolate warms them both as they sit down with drinks in one hand and fortunes in the other. “You read yours yet?” Watari asks after scalding his tongue on his very hot beverage.

Matsukawa harrumphs. “I’ve been staring at fortunes all day. They all kind of say the same thing by this point.” When Watari shakes his head, Matsukawa remembers something from earlier. “Here, give me yours.”

Watari looks at him dubiously but does as he’s told, and Matsukawa pulls out the pencil he always has in his pocket and gets to work. It is something he has to admit he’s thought about during the slow, in-between moments at work or whenever he sees the manga Watari had binge-bought so many months ago, and he thinks he knows which character his old friend will appreciate the most.

Without a word, he passes the fortune back to Watari, who gasps. “ _You_ did all the ones your shop sold?”

“Yep.” He looks meaningfully at the character he just drew. “I thought you might like that one.”

Watari picks it up and looks at it in awe. “You remembered. Now I just want to keep it.”

Matsukawa crosses his arms and leans back in his chair. “Then how will your wish come true?”

“Maybe it already has.” Watari traces the lines of pencil lead reverently as he smiles down at the slip of paper. “Seriously, thank you.”

Not used to so many compliments, Matsukawa’s cheeks redden as he slouches in his own seat. He chances a look up at Watari and sees the other boy is blushing, as well.

 _Cute_ , he can’t help but think.

They finish their hot chocolate while they catch up on each other’s lives. Matsukawa learns that Watari is going to a fairly famous business school and is doing well, and shares that he will probably be the new manager of the shop once the owner retires in the fall.

It surprises him, however, when Matsukawa sees Watari’s genuine joy at this news. “What, it’s only a manga shop,” he says with a wave of the hand. “You’re probably going to be rich by the time you’re forty.”

Watari shakes his head. “No, I don’t think you even know what a chance this is. You’ll have business relationships with publishers. You’ll _know_ people. With your talent, you could be a published mangaka within five years.”

Matsukawa blinks. “I . . . can honestly say it never crossed my mind. I just doodle.”

“Just think about it, okay?” Watari gives him a playful punch in the arm and asks, “You wanna go to hear the bells?”

Raising a brow, Matsukawa says, “It’s barely past six. The bells don’t start until quarter to midnight.”

“Are your parents planning anything tonight?” Matsukawa shakes his head. “Then come over to mine for a while. Mom left me a year’s worth of mochi. I’ll put on five kilograms if left to my own devices.”

The thought of Watari having an ounce of fat to spare makes Matsukawa laugh. The guy has eaten like a human dumpster since he was a first year in high school without adverse consequences; he doubts that has changed at all. “Sure,” he says, looking forward to this New Year celebration more than he has since he was a kid. “Sounds great.”

Matsukawa follows Watari to his house, which is only a five minute walk from the coffee shop, and is relieved by the significant increase of temperature as he walks through the door. “Wow, I think my fingers might fall off.”

Watari nods as he rubs his hands together. “Sometimes, I forget how cold it is up north. I’ll fire up the kotatsu.”

Soon, they are both ensconced side by side with their legs under the heavenly warmth of the kotatsu, with throw blankets draped over their shoulders as they munch on mochi.

They watch the television, which doesn’t have much on aside from a Korean winter league baseball game, but that’s okay. Matsukawa gets to find out how much Watari really loves baseball. He listens as Watari rattles on about batting strategy and pitcher stats between mouthfuls of mochi.

When Watari is between breaths, Matsukawa can’t help but smile. “And here I thought you were all about volleyball.”

Watari freezes. There is a long, cold moment that Matsukawa thinks that he’s misspoken before a reply comes. “I honestly wanted to play baseball more, but I didn’t make the local senior league team. The volleyball team at my school needed members, so I did that instead. I didn’t expect to love it so much, but you know how things tend to work out for the best.”

Matsukawa wants to put himself in Watari’s shoes, but he knows he can’t because he hasn’t been rejected from a sports team in his life. He’s always been picked first because of his size and the strength that comes with it. So, instead, he throws an arm around Watari and says, “How else would you be spending your New Year next to an awesome guy like me?”

He expects a laugh and an end to the uncomfortable moment, but Matsukawa knows he’s wrong the moment he locks gazes with Watari. There is something indescribable passing between them, and his head lowers of its own accord.

Their lips meet halfway, and before Matsukawa can even process that he’s kissing _Watari_ , his lap is full of a tangle of arms and legs that are hanging on to him for dear life. When he feels like he’s going to pass out from lack of air, Matsukawa tears his mouth away and lolls his head back limply. “Holy crap.”

“I’ve wanted to do that for hours,” Watari murmurs as he traces his lips down the column of Matsukawa’s neck. “Maybe longer.”

“Ha!” Matsukawa chuckles. “Either I’m super dense or you are very good at hiding things.”

Watari hums against his throat, and Matsukawa can’t say he hates the sensation. “It’s something you learn when you spend your teenage life in a room full of guys who won’t like the idea that they’re your type.”

“Tell me about it,” Matsukawa growls before hefting Watari higher on his lap and kissing him hard.

They miss the bells.

 

* * *

 

It’s an old dance for them now. Watari comes back to Sendai during school breaks and Matsukawa is waiting. It’s only a few times a year, but they call each other twice a week and do maybe a _little_ more over Skype. It isn’t ideal, but it’s enough for the longest time.

But not forever.

It’s been two years, and Matsukawa knows Watari is close to graduation. Soon, Watari will move back to Sendai and find a job, and they won’t be long distance . . . whatever they are, anymore. Matsukawa already got the promotion he was promised, and with their combined funds, they can get a place to call their own.

Watari invites Matsukawa to his graduation ceremony, and the shop owner is happy to cover while his best employee takes a week off. The train ride down south isn’t a terribly long one — only a few prefectures away in Saitama — but knowing Watari is waiting for him at the end of the journey makes the clatter of the wheels on the track like the interminable ticking of a clock.

When he arrives, Matsukawa follows the directions to the school his phone provides, and where to go from there from Watari’s extremely detailed directions via text.

He’s wearing his best trousers and a jacket purchased for just this event, and he even visited a salon to have his hair cut and eyebrows done so he can look his best for Watari’s big day. All that’s left is finishing the day so he can help Watari pack and come home.

There isn’t a chance to meet before, but Matsukawa is able to text Watari good luck.

The ceremony is long and boring, much as Matsukawa thinks it will be, but he claps loudly for Watari when his name is announced. Watari meets his eyes and blushes, and Matsukawa does the same.

He loves this guy.

A realization he can’t believe he hasn’t reached before leeches into his limbs and makes his clothes feel way too hot. The kid he used to play volleyball with. The young man who came in looking for manga. The guy who stole his heart with a New Year’s kiss. The only person he’s ever given himself to.

The graduates flood the audience in search of loved ones, and Matsukawa waits next to Watari’s teary-eyed parents (who are happy to see him there). The man of the hour finds them pretty quickly, and while Matsukawa swears he doesn’t cry, there might just be a bit of moisture in his eyes as he sees a grinning Watari clutching his ceremonial degree and hugging his mother.

Watari shakes his father’s hand before his eyes fall on Matsukawa. “Issei,” he says breathily. “I did it. I really did it.”

Matsukawa chortles before hugging Watari tightly to his chest. “Yeah, you did, Shinji,” he gasps, his throat thick. “You really did.”

Okay, maybe he cries just a little.

Watari’s parents insist on taking them out to dinner at a nice place and won’t have any of Matsukawa’s insistence on paying for himself. It’s about what he expects, a quiet dinner with family, but sitting next to the guy he loves without being able to so much as kiss him rapidly wears on Matsukawa’s last vestiges of patience.

It isn’t until the Wataris pay and insist that the boys take their time with a look he can’t decipher that Matsukawa realizes they know something he does not.

“That was . . . weird.”

Watari colors before looking at his shoes. “It’s not their fault. They just didn’t want to step on anything or make it worse. They mean well.”

The dull tone in Watari’s voice makes Matsukawa involuntarily shiver. “When you say it like that, it feels like I’m dressed for a funeral.”

“Issei,” Watari sighs as they step out into the cool night air. “One of the programs at my school is to help graduates find jobs after graduation. Jobs in places you normally couldn’t walk into without ten years’ worth of experience minimum and even be given an application.”

Matsukawa smiles broadly. “That’s great! It means you can find work right away, and you deserve it.”

But the way Watari’s head hangs makes Matsukawa’s heart slam to a halt. “The job they offered me isn’t in Sendai. It’s in Tokyo.”

His breath caught in a bubble in his throat, Matsukawa feels like gagging as he realizes what this means. “But you said . . .”

“I know.” Watari slumps against the side of some random shop and tilts his head back, and Matsukawa knows he is crying without even looking. “I asked for a posting in Sendai and they said they’d try, but when I was given the job in Tokyo, my advisor told me that the business world works this way. You go where the work is. If I refuse the posting, it could kill my career.”

“Then I’ll go with you,” Matsukawa says with no hesitation at all. “I can get a job in Tokyo, and neither of us have to give up anything.”

Watari shakes his head and grinds his teeth. “I can’t ask you to do that, Issei. It’s selfish, and you won’t know anyone but me.” Matsukawa starts to object, but Watari holds up a hand to stop him before he starts. “You may think you’re okay with this now, but your entire life is here. Everyone you know is here. You have a good job for a caring boss, and that’s gold in just about any workplace.

“You’d resent me if I let you do that, and I wouldn’t blame you. I just don’t think I could take it if you did.”

Once again, Matsukawa opens his mouth to rebut, but Watari stands in front of him and puts his finger over Matsukawa’s lips. “We have a week before I leave, and I’d really like to spend it with you.”

Matsukawa wants to say so many things, most of which revolve around the word ‘no’, but he sees that Watari is just as close to losing it as he is so he doesn’t. Instead, he crushes the other man to his chest, resting his chin on Watari’s crown, and murmurs, “Okay.”

It doesn’t escape his notice that today is Monday.

 

* * *

 

It’s been over a year and a lot of Mondays. Matsukawa still laughs and he still cries when he’s alone sometimes, but the former has all but eclipsed the other. The shop owner, Ishimura-san, says that he’s happy that Matsukawa is ‘himself’ again.

And perhaps he is himself again, Matsukawa thinks on days when the shop is open and dead as hell. Maybe he never stopped being himself, since he can’t remember the last time he looked forward to anything more substantial than new release day.

It’s Monday again, and the shop is open. Not because it’s a holiday or they expect to be busy, but because Matsukawa needs to do something with himself to he doesn’t go insane. He’s filled up a dozen sketchbooks just from being bored at work, but he keeps drawing the same characters over and over and doesn’t want to admit at all that they have all started to look a little like Watari.

The bell above the door jingles, and Matsukawa reflexively says, “Welcome to Ishimura Manga Bonanza,” without even putting down his pencil.

“I don’t suppose you have the newest volume of that baseball manga I like, do you?”

The pencil snaps in Matsukawa’s hands as his head jolts up from the page. “Shinji.” He blinks once, then twice, to make sure he’s not hallucinating. He struggles for something to say, but his dumb mouth merely spouts of its own accord, “That doesn’t look like business attire.”

He gives Matsukawa a wobbly smile as he approaches the counter. Looking at Matsukawa’s sketch, he raises a brow. “And that doesn’t look like Shunshin, either, so I guess we’re even.”

Matsukawa isn’t sure he can defend himself, so he merely shrugs. “Not really, no. I’ll work on that.” He glances up from the sketch. “You on vacation, then?”

“Something like that,” Watari replies as he shoves his hands in his pockets. Leaning against the counter, he sighs. “More like looking for a job before my parents throw rocks at me for wasting an expensive education.”

Brows shooting up in surprise, Matsukawa nocks his head to the side and asks, “What happened to Tokyo?”

Watari shivers, and Matsukawa knows that whatever it is, it has to be terrible. “I wasn’t willing to give myself up to their expectations. I don’t care how much money I’d make. I can’t be the person they wanted me to be, and I don’t want to be, either.”

It takes an effort not to ask what that means, but Matsukawa doesn’t. Instead, he concentrates on forcing his lungs to function. Watari is there. Watari is _there_. Right in front of him. In Sendai and not Tokyo. Wearing shorts and a concert tee and not a suit. Looking at him and not some business account.

_Breathe, Issei. Breathe._

He knows Watari is watching him, his intelligent gaze probably not missing a beat as he watches his almost-boyfriend hyperventilate.

“I never should’ve gone, Issei. I’m so sorry I did this to you.”

Watari’s hands are over his face, and Matsukawa knows he’s probably about to cry. A petty part of himself wants to let him because Watari is the one who left, but the mere idea of holding a grudge against Watari leaves a rancid taste in his mouth. “Well, you’re back now. What are you going to do?”

His face still red, Watari looks up at Matsukawa. “What I should’ve done from the start. Find a job here in Sendai, get a crappy little apartment, and hope the guy I love is stupider than me and will take me back.”

Matsukawa stumbles backwards until he plunks down in his chair, jaw slack. Watari is back. Watari is staying. Watari wants him back.

But Watari is also recently unemployed and might not even know what he’s saying. Matsukawa doesn’t think he can take Watari leaving him again. “What about your career? You said you’d be toast if you refused the job.”

This draws a bitter laugh from Watari. “After the past year, I don’t think I even care. It’s not worth it.” He shrugs. “Besides, I’m sure there’s a place or two that would deign to hire me and my degrees in business and economics.”

“I’m sure you’re right.” Matsukawa wants to kick himself for his pathetic one-liners that are perpetuating this weirdness between them. “So, you caught up on the entire series? It’s pretty long.”

 _Smooth, Issei_ , he chides himself.

Watari grins. “Well, yeah! It’s the only thing I had to take with me that I ever shared with you, and it probably kept me from going nuts for at least the first six months.”

Matsukawa wants to throw up, laugh, and cry all at once. Instead, he settles on throwing himself out of his chair and smashing their mouths together like it’s the last kiss either of them will ever have.

They stagger across the room until they reach the front door. Matsukawa flips the sign from Open to Closed before sliding the deadbolt home.

“Won’t Ishimura-san be angry?” Watari gasps when they both come up for air.

With a chuckle, Matsukawa says, “Meh, probably not. The shop isn’t supposed to be open on Mondays anyway.”

Matsukawa tears himself away from Watari just long enough to count down the cash register and throw the money into the safe before nearly running out the door. He almost forgets to set the alarm, but Watari reminds him to do that and to let the owner know he’s taking the rest of the day off.

A blush at his own mishap and a hasty text make quick work of both these, and Matsukawa all but drags Watari in the direction of his own house.

“Are your parents still at work?” Watari asks as he slips off his shoes.

Grinning, Matsukawa says, “Dad’s out of town on business, and Mom’s staying with her sister for a few days. In Kanagawa.”

“Ooh, Mom and Dad are away,” Watari teases. “Time to play.”

Matsukawa laughs. “God, you are such a nerd.” He brushes a kiss against Watari’s temple. “I love you.”

Watari’s answer is to push Matsukawa in the direction of his bedroom, and the message is loud and clear.

 

* * *

 

Sunrise is bright and unwanted, because it means Matsukawa actually has to go to work today because it’s not Monday anymore. But whether it’s Tuesday, Wednesday, or Doomsday, it doesn’t matter.

Because Watari is back and he’s never going to leave again. His slightly snoring bulk holds Matsukawa down on sheets that still smell like their night together, and he aims for them never to forget. They had certainly given it a number of reminders, he recalls with a snort.

They made it through the door, but not much farther. They took a break to order pizza, and Watari submitted two online applications on Matsukawa’s laptop. Celebration was in order, of course. Then they looked for apartment listings on a realtor website. Another cause for jubilation. Naturally. And then once more for the hell of it.

His back hurts. His ass hurts. His legs hurt even more. But Matsukawa can’t help but realize that these dull aches are nothing compared to the feeling of the void in his chest that he’s cultivated for the past year being filled up in one sweat-filled evening.

 _It’s crazy how things work out,_ he thinks.

**Author's Note:**

> I keep spilling Daiya no Ace references into my fics, and I'm slightly sorry but no...not really.


End file.
